Rosberg holds his hands up over poor start

Nico Rosberg said he 'completely messed up' his start in Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix and blamed himself entirely for missing out on a chance to beat Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton on one of the Briton’s 'weaker' circuits.

In the first race since new regulations restricting the instructions drivers may receive from their teams, 30-year-old Rosberg failed to make a clean departure from the grid and fell from second to fifth at the first corner.

"I completely messed up the start, which was very annoying," said Rosberg, who left the circuit soon after the race to return to Monaco where his wife Vivian is expecting their first child.

"The start was really bad so I need to practice that a bit more. When I had clear air in the front, I chased Lewis, I was always coming close, apart from one phase in the second stint when he pulled away.

"I tried to hunt Lewis down but it wasn't enough," added the German.

He conceded that the aborted first start may have upset his preparations for the start, but accepted the blame.

"Yes, we did another formation, which puts more temperature in and things change… That also caught me out, but it's my job to do it well and I didn't do it well."
Source: AFP